"Very tall [Galadriel and Celeborn] were, and the Lady no less tall than the Lord; and they were grave and beautiful. They were clad wholly in white; and the hair of the Lady was of deep gold… but no sign of age was upon them, unless it were in the depths of their eyes; for these were keen as lances in the starlight, and yet profound, the wells of deep memory."

When a fourth child was born to Finarfin, prince of the Noldor, and Eärwen, princess of the Teleri, her father named her Artanis, which is "noble woman". She was unusually tall and strong as she grew, and so Eärwen’s name for her was Nerwen, "man-maiden". It is said among the Eldar that her hair had captured the light of the Two Trees in Valinor, which resulted a very unique and dazzling colour of gold and silver. According to a legend, this is how Fëanor conceived the idea of capturing the light of the trees inside the Silmarils.
Despite her mixed blood, she was identified as a princess of the Noldor, as her father was the third son of Finwë, High King of the Noldor.

During the Darkening of Valinor, she was very independent and visionary. She swore no oaths but the words of Fëanor concerning Middle-earth kindled a desire in her heart, as she was eager to see those wide unguarded lands and rule a realm of her own.
During the troubles that followed, it is unclear if she took any part in the Kinslaying of Alqualondë. However, accounts suggest she travelled among the second group led by Fingolfin, which joined the battle at Alqualondë late and without knowing how it had started. Some of that group had not participated in the killing, although it is not clear who and how many. Dismayed by the prophecy of Mandos, her father Finarfin abandoned the march of the Noldor and returned to Valinor. But Galadriel and her brothers crossed the Helcaraxë in far north and arrived to the northern shores of Hither Lands[5].

In Beleriand, Galadriel and her eldest brother Finrod Felagund came to Doriath as guests of Elu Thingol, the King of Doriath. It was there she met Celeborn, a kinsman of Thingol, who would become her husband and companion in Middle-earth[6]. When her brother Finrod departed to the Caverns of Narog to establish the stronghold of Nargothrond, Galadriel did not go with him and remained in Doriath with her husband, though she occasionally visited her brother in Nargothrond.

During her days in Doriath, Galadriel became friends with Queen Melian the Maia, and they spoke often to one another about Valinor.[7] Melian was eager to learn the causes of the Exile of the Noldor, but Galadriel would tell her nothing of what occurred after the death of the Trees. Eventually, however, as Melian’s guesses became more shrewd and accurate, Galadriel revealed the tale to her, though still leaving out the death of Finwë, the Kinslaying, and the burning of the Ships at Losgar.[7] Melian was able to discern some of what was left unsaid, and still more came as rumors to Thingol’s ears. At last, egged on by the accusing words of Thingol, Angrod told all. Galadriel was not expelled from Doriath because of Thingol’s sympathy to the houses of Finarfin and Fingolfin for the wrongs they had suffered. All the same, she went to Nargothrond to live with Finrod for a time.[7] Presumably, she returned to Doriath to live with her husband.

Given the choice whether to stay in Middle-earth or not, Galadriel and Celeborn surprisingly decided to remain. Galadriel was still very proud, even arrogant, and refused to accept the pardon of the Valar and therefore exiled herself in Middle-earth.

After the War of Wrath, Galadriel and Celeborn came to Lindon with the other survivors of Beleriand. They ruled over the fiefdom of Harlindon, which was composed mostly of Sindar, under the High King Gil-galad[8]. Eventually the couple moved to a new land called Eregion in far eastwards of Lindon. It was ruled by Celebrimbor, a grandson of Fëanor and distant cousin of Galadriel. They dwelt there for a time and Galadriel was probably present during the crafting of the Rings of Power. Eventually Galadriel and Celeborn made contact with the Nandor of Amdír, who dwelt in a forest realm called Lórinand across the Misty Mountains. They crossed the Hithaeglir through Khazad-dûm and relocated to there, becoming great among the Wood-elves.

Celebrimbor and the jewelsmiths of Gwaith-i-Mírdain collaborated with Annatar on the great process of making Rings of Power.[9] By Annatar’s help, the Elves of Eregion created many rings, but both Celebrimbor and Annatar created greater rings of their own in secret. Celebrimbor wrought the Three Rings of the Elves, which were far more powerful than the lesser rings. Annatar, however, wrought the One Ring. When he placed it on his finger, the Elves were aware of his treachery, and took off their rings. Celebrimbor, afraid for his life but even more for the safety of the Three Rings, sent them to two of the Wise: Narya and Vilya for Gil-galad (who eventually gave Narya to Círdan), and Nenya for Galadriel. Very few even of the Eldar knew who hid each of these Rings. Celebrimbor was slain by Sauron not long after, and Eregion was laid waste.[9] But the Three Rings were safe.

When King Amroth son of Amdír perished, Celeborn and Galadriel ruled Lórinand (now known as Lothlórien or Lórien) jointly, and were called the Lord and Lady of Galadhrim. Lothlórien blossomed, and Galadriel planted the mallorn seeds brought with her from Lindon, the only mallorns east of the Sea. They established Caras Galadhon, and the realm of Lothlórien was one of light and life. It was during their days of power and glory in Lothlórien (either before or after the deaths of Amdír and Amroth) that Galadriel bore her first and only child: a daughter exceedingly fair named Celebrían. She married Elrond, a close friend of Galadriel’s and bearer of Vilya after the death of Gil-galad during the Alliance. Celeborn and Galadriel had three grandchildren by her, one of whom, Arwen, they were especially close to. But Celebrían was waylaid and tortured by Orcs in T.A.2509, and passed West over the sea.

In T.A.2463 the White Council was formed. Galadriel, being one of the Wise and the greatest threat to Sauron alive, was one of the members.[9] Celeborn may have been as well, but this is not known for sure. She was a good friend of Gandalf, and recommended that he be made head of the Council. But this distinction fell instead to Saruman, whom she distrusted.

During the War of the Ring, Galadriel met the Fellowship of the Ring in T.A.3019. She especially was attentive to the HobbitFrodo Baggins, who was the bearer of the One Ring. She showed him Nenya, and let him gaze into her mirror of seeing. He offered her the One Ring, and despite the extreme temptation, she resisted it successfully. She sent the Fellowship off on their quest furnished with gifts. The two most important gifts she gave were to Aragorn, whom she knew well and liked, and a dwarf named Gimli. To Aragorn she gave the Elfstone, which she and her daughter Celebrían had worn. She was unsure as to what to give Gimli, and asked what he wanted. After complimenting her beauty, he requested a single strand of her hair. Galadriel remembered the posing of a similar question by Fëanor, but had searched Gimli’s heart and knew that his intentions were pure. She rewarded him with three strands, which he was later to put into an imperishable crystal in memory of her.

Not long after the departure of the Fellowship she received the resurrected Gandalf. She reclothed and refurnished him, giving him a new staff. After Gandalf left, Lothlórien was subjected to three successive attacks by armies coming out of Dol Guldur. By the power of her Ring they were thrice repulsed. Celeborn then led an attack on Dol Guldur itself. Once the dark fortress was in the hands of the Galadhrim, Galadriel came, threw down its walls, and purified it of its evil. It was her last act of power, for the One Ring was destroyed, and the strength of Nenya waned and eventually vanished almost completely.

Galadriel attended the wedding of Aragorn with Arwen, then returned to Lothlórien. But in T.A.3021, two years later, she bade farewell to Celeborn her husband and went West to Valinor. With her went the other two bearers of the Rings, Gandalf and Elrond, and Frodo and Bilbo Baggins who had borne the One Ring. They passed West, and came never again to Middle-earth. There in Valinor Galadriel must have tried to heal Frodo of his spiritual wounds. Whether she was successful or not is unknown. But sometime later during the Fourth Age she received Celeborn, her husband. And in Fo.A.120, it is said, she received Gimli her admirer, who was the first and only dwarf to enter Valinor.

Galadriel was very beautiful, her hair being the most notable feature about her. It reminded the Eldar of the light of the Two Trees. Galadriel, at least in her earlier years, was of a somewhat proud and rebellious nature. She was free-spirited, and during her time in Aman had many dreams of wide unexplored lands. Her favorite brother was Finrod, for he, too, shared this vision. She could explore the minds and hearts of others, and her gaze was seeing. It may be because of her unusual beauty and power that she became proud.

But by the Third Age she is also seen to act with wisdom and gentleness. In The Lord of the Rings, she appears very gentle, firm, and wise. She was revered even more than Celeborn by the Galadhrim and all who met her.

Galadriel is a Sindarin name translated by Tolkien as "glittering garland",[10] "Maiden crowned with gleaming hair",[11] and "maiden crowned with a radiant garland".[12][13] It has been suggested that Galadriel consists of galad ("light, radiance") + rî ("crown") + iell ("daughter").[14] Tolkien notes that the element galad had no relation to Sindarin galadh ("tree", or Silvan galad "tree"), but that such a connexion often was made and her name then was pronounced Galadhriel.[12][15]

Galadhriel was a name occasionally, and incorrectly, used of Galadriel after she became Lady of Lórien, and meaning 'tree-garland'. As the Lady of the Galadhrim, whose capital was at Caras Galadhon, it is perhaps understandable that her name should have become confused with the Elvish word galadh, meaning 'tree'. Nonetheless, this usage was mistaken — her true name Galadriel actually derived from the word galad ("radiant"), and the false variant Galadhriel was never used in her own country of Lórien.[19]

There is a bit of befuddlement and confusion in the story of Galadriel, which Tolkien revised multiple times. Originally, and in the published Silmarillion, Galadriel followed Fëanor into Exile.[5] Then she met Celeborn in Doriath, for Celeborn was one of the Sindar.[20] This earlier account explains the difficulty of Celeborn and Galadriel being so closely related (the Eldar did not marry that close). Though it's possible that Galadriel and Celeborn rebelliously defied the customs and laws, it is primarily because of this difficulty that the earlier account has some veracity.

According to the version of History of Galadriel and Celeborn in Unfinished Tales, she lived with her Telerin relatives in Alqualondë. It was in there that she met Teleporno, a young Telerin prince probably the son or grandson of Olwë (which would make him Artanis’s uncle or cousin)*. They eventually fell in love, and he called her in his own Telerin tongue Alatáriel (later Sindarinized as Galadriel and semi-Quenyarized as Altáriel). She had another admirer as well: her half-uncle, Fëanor. Fëanor, being a lover of beauty and brilliance, noted her shining hair. He may have been inspired by her tresses to make the Silmarils, both being said to capture the light of the Two Trees. He begged her to spare him some of her hair, but she refused him a single hair three times and he gave up. She had unusually strong powers of mental perception, and when she looked into his mind, she saw only darkness, hinting at Fëanor's evil nature.
During the troubles that followed the Darkening of Valinor, she took no part in the atrocities against the Teleri during the Kinslaying of Alqualondë, but urged Teleporno her beloved to sail across the Sea to Middle-earth by her side. He agreed for her sake, and so they both came under the Doom of Mandos. Their crossing to Middle-earth by ship was the exception—Fëanor and his sons had sailed stolen Telerin ships, while the vast majority of the other Noldor under Fingolfin crossed the Helcaraxë on foot.

Once in Beleriand they were welcomed by King Thingol of Doriath, as both were Telerin in origin. Thingol knew nothing of what had happened to his brother Olwë and the Calaquendi, and they brought news. But they said nothing about the Kinslaying. Teleporno was Sindarinized as Celeborn, and Artanis adopted Teleporno’s pet name for her, Alatáriel, in its Sindarin form: Galadriel.
After the rest of the Noldor arrived in Beleriand and the great Dagor-nuin-Giliath was fought, Galadriel re-established contact with her brothers, though her hate for the orphaned sons of Fëanor was still strong. She learned much from Melian during her days in Doriath, and occasionally spent time in Nargothrond with her eldest brother Finrod Felagund.

The couple survived the Fall of Beleriand and came to Lindon. Galadriel and her husband stayed there for a while, in the kingdom of Galadriel’s relative Gil-galad. There for a time they ruled over a fiefdom of Sindar. Eventually in early Second Age they went eastwards and established (primarily but by no means solely) the Noldorin realm of Eregion. Celebrimbor lived there, and was high in importance among the smiths.
Though Galadriel urged Celebrimbor against it, the Noldo collaborated with Annatar (who was actually Sauron in a fair disguise) on the great process of making Rings of Power. When Sauron's plot revealed, Galadriel counselled Celebrimbor to send the Three Rings far from Eregion. So two of the rings (Narya and Vilya) were sent to Gil-Galad (who eventually gave Narya to Círdan) and Nenya was given to Galadriel. She took the ring across the Misty Mountains through Khazad-dûm to safety in a land called Lórinand in the east.
In time Amdír, King of Lórinand, was slain in the Battle of Dagorlad during the War of the Last Alliance. Celeborn may have participated in the war, but the greatest effect it had on the twain (and Lórinand) was the destruction of Sauron and the loss of the One Ring. Galadriel was now free to use her ring. With Nenya, the Ring of Water, Galadriel made the realm of Lórinand even greater. With the power of her ring, she protected it from the intrusion of evils throughout the Third Age.

It should be noted that Tolkien did not reject any of these versions, therefore it is not possible to say which of these variations would become the 'true' history of Galadriel, if he had time to finish the Silmarillion.

The voice of Galadriel is provided by Marian Diamond. In addition to the Lorien episodes, the voice of Galadriel is heard in Shelob's Lair as a reminder to use the phial, and she appears with Elrond in the final episode in the Shire, as they journey towards the Grey Havens.

Galadriel is played by Cate Blanchett. Galadriel narrates the Prologue, explaining the creation of the Rings of Power and the War of the Last Alliance. Earlier plans considered were to have either Frodo or Gandalf narrate the Prologue, but this was dropped: Frodo was not alive until thousands of years after these events happened, and although Gandalf was alive, he was not present in Middle-earth at the time; the Wizards came some one thousand years after the Prologue ends. Thus Galadriel narrates the Prologue, because she had first-hand accounts of this history and actively participated in its events.

Galadriel frequently consults telepathically with Elrond; there is an indication from the books[source?] that the two were able to communicate in some way, without specific reference. In the film, unlike the book, Galadriel and Elrond send an army of Elves - led by Haldir - to Helm's Deep to aid the Rohirrim. In the DVD commentary, Peter Jackson and his fellow writers explain that they worried audiences would wonder why the Elves don't seem to be helping in the war, while at the same time, they felt that actually inserting an entire separate battle scene at Lothlórien would take up too much screentime and resources.

A spiritual apparition of Lady Galadriel appears to provide Frodo strength following his passage through Shelob's Lair, soon after he uses the Phial that she gave him. She is later seen leaving Middle-Earth along with other Ring-Bearers, but in film version her husband Celeborn departs with her at the same time.

Galadriel is the strongest of "Hero" units available to the Free Peoples. If a player's army manages to spot Gollum on the battlefield, take The One Ring from him and deliver it to their forces, the option to "summon" Galadriel unlocks for a large amount of resources. Thus, Lady Galadriel is represented as succumbing to corruption of The Ring, similar to the respective scene in the The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie.

Galadriel was portrayed by Cate Blanchett.[22] She appears as part of the White Council alongside Saruman, Gandalf and Elrond. Later, she telepathically urges Gandalf to further seek the true identity of the Necromancer. Finally, during the attack on Dol Guldur, Galadriel plays a larger role. She first rescues Gandalf from captivity, and is ultimately the one to drive Sauron from the fortress using her phial.

↑ Quote by J.R.R. Tolkien from the Unfinished Tales, the same section referenced: "Thus two rangar was often called 'man-high', which at thirty-eight inches gives an average height of six feet four inches; (1.93 meters) but this was at a later date, when the stature of the Dúnedain appears to have decreased..." (emphasis mine)